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Not Without Equity

This entry is part 1 of 4 in the series ABIDE

If you haven’t yet heard, SHRM (the Society for Human Resource Management) recently announced the “strategic decision” to rebrand DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) as Inclusion & Diversity (I&D), effective immediately. In their words, “by emphasizing Inclusion-first, we aim to address the current shortcomings of DE&I programs, which have led to societal backlash and increasing polarization […] Equity will be integrated under the broader Inclusion framework.”

I’ve been giving a lot of thought to what this announcement means in the context of the work that I do. 

Read More »Not Without Equity

In Summary

SHRM, a big HR group, recently changed its "DEI" program to "I&D". They say they want to focus more on inclusion. However, this change removes "Equity," which is about making things fair for everyone, especially those who've faced challenges. The author argues that without equity, diversity can just be about looks, without real equal chances. They believe getting rid of "equity" ignores that people start from different places and need different support to succeed. Because of this, the author plans to stop being involved with SHRM.

illustrated disabled people in brightly-colored clothing

Published: Are You Missing the D in DEI?

I had an article published in the recent Workplace in Action® People Excellence magazine. My newest piece, “Are You Missing the ‘D’ in DEI?,” explores how diversity & inclusion initiatives may be missing the mark if they aren’t including disability.

My full article is shared below (along with a page for the #A11yBook!), but I hope you’ll check out the full magazine here as well. I’m still reading some of the great articles contributed by my colleagues. It’s a robust issue with a variety of perspectives!

Read More »Published: Are You Missing the D in DEI?

In Summary

Many companies talk about being fair and including everyone. They can often forget about people with disabilities. When we leave out people with disabilities, it means those people feel unwelcome. Companies can miss out on great ideas and talented workers. To truly include everyone, businesses need to make sure events and online tools can be used by people with disabilities. Disabled voices should be heard in all discussions about fairness and inclusion.

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Making Work Accessible: Onboarding

This entry is part 4 of 6 in the series Making Work Accessible

Welcome to this series of posts on Making Work Accessible! I’m so excited to share this deeper dive into accessibility at work, based on some content from a recent webinar and presentation. We’re going to explore the phases of the employee life cycle: Attraction, Recruitment, Onboarding, Development, and Retention. I’ll share some accessibility and inclusion best practices in each of these areas, and also include a related benefit of disability inclusion.

In HR, “onboarding” refers to the process of introducing a new employee to an organization and helping them adjust to their new role. What does that look like for people with disabilities?

Read More »Making Work Accessible: Onboarding

In Summary

When a new person starts a job, "onboarding" is how the company helps them get settled. For employees with disabilities, making this process easy and fair is key. Doing the things in this article makes the company look better to customers and shows they care about fairness.

a person with arrows icon in black on an orange background

Making Work Accessible: Recruitment

This entry is part 3 of 6 in the series Making Work Accessible

Welcome to this series of posts on Making Work Accessible! I’m so excited to share this deeper dive into accessibility at work, based on some content from a recent webinar and presentation. We’re going to explore the phases of the employee life cycle: Attraction, Recruitment, Onboarding, Development, and Retention. I’ll share some accessibility and inclusion best practices in each of these areas, and also include a related benefit of disability inclusion.

In HR, “recruitment” refers to the process of screening resumes, interviewing, and hiring within an organization. What does that look like for people with disabilities?

Read More »Making Work Accessible: Recruitment

In Summary

Hiring people with disabilities brings in fresh ideas. It can help companies solve problems in new ways. By changing how they recruit and interview, businesses can find talented individuals with different ways of thinking. This can spark creativity and new solutions.

cover of The Inclusive Speaker: How to Truly Connect With All of Your Audience Without Leaving Anyone Behind by Denis Boudreau

Review: The Inclusive Speaker

The Inclusive Speaker by Denis Boudreau has been on my radar for a bit, and I got to finally finish up reading on my flight back from New Orleans last weekend.

I have to start by saying, I really wanted to be able to recommend this book. I went in with the highest of hopes, imagining myself sharing this book with my speaker’s community and creating a wave of more disability-inclusive speakers. Since I speak on accessibility and disability inclusion, other speakers often ask me what they can do better to reach these audience members. This book has some good wisdom, but is in other places… problematic.

Read More »Review: The Inclusive Speaker

In Summary

This review of "The Inclusive Speaker" points out some good parts and some problems. The reviewer really wanted to like the book, especially since they teach others about being inclusive speakers. The main issue is that the book often talks about "learning styles," which research has shown is a myth. However, the book does have helpful parts, especially the checklists in Part 3. These checklists give practical advice on how to make presentations more inclusive for people with different disabilities.

blue accessibility icon

What’s the Difference between Accessibility, Usability, and Inclusion?

What’s the difference between accessibility, usability, and inclusion? I’m so glad you asked! This topic comes up a lot when discovering the world of accessibility, and these topics intersect and apply in different ways depending on your goals. I’d love to share a few definitions and sources I’ve found helpful.

Read More »What’s the Difference between Accessibility, Usability, and Inclusion?

In Summary

Accessibility means making sure websites and online tools work for people with disabilities. You either do it right, or you don't. Usability means making things easy for everyone to use. But sometimes, even if something is easy for most people, it's still hard for someone with a disability. Inclusion is about making sure everyone feels welcome and can be part of things, no matter what. So, accessibility is about following rules to make sure disabled people can use things. It's a "yes" or "no" answer. Usability and inclusion are more about making sure everyone feels good using something and like they belong.